Pilots seated in aircraft cockpits are protected from exterior conditions, e.g., weather, objects in the sky, by one or more durable, optically transparent covers. This can include a windscreen and a canopy that is movable relative to the windscreen to allow for pilot ingress and egress. The windscreen and canopy are connected to the aircraft fuselage by a unitary frame, which must absorb the impact of any object(s) striking the windscreen and/or canopy. The cross-section of the frame is typically increased to help it absorb the full impact load.